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Behind Enemy Lines: Who is UCLA's most important 2026 transfer?
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- Behind Enemy Lines: Who is UCLA's most important 2026 transfer?
Behind Enemy Lines: Who is UCLA's most important 2026 transfer?
We continue our USC Behind Enemy Lines series with UCLA Wire and its editor, Dylan McNeill, who is giving us inside intel on the Bruins before the 2026 season. We asked McNeill about UCLA's most important incoming transfer.
"One UCLA transfer, running back Wayne Knight, is getting preseason All-American nods , but the most important Bruin transfer might just be defensive end Sahir West," McNeill told us. "West feasted as a freshman with James Madison in the Sun Belt Conference, winning Freshman of the Year. West already looks like he could be a major building block for the UCLA defense after putting up seven sacks, 45 tackles and 14 tackles for losses. After making it to the College Football Playoffs with JMU, West opted to follow his head coach to Los Angeles for a chance to prove himself in the Big Ten."
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It will be fascinating to see the mixture of players who produce for UCLA and are counted on to perform by coach Bob Chesney. How many will be transfers? How many will be returning starters? How many will be freshmen? Chesney had to do a lot of roster evaluations in order to get a sense of what he wanted and felt comfortable with in his first season at UCLA. Will Chesney instantly find the right combination, or will he need one year to really figure things out in Westwood? The speed at which Chesney grasps the UCLA football job will be one of the more important stories to watch in the Big Ten and Los Angeles this fall.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Behind Enemy Lines: Who is UCLA's most important 2026 transfer?
